A Look At The Socialist Party

The race for the presidency is now in the season of Spring. One could say “new life” is being renewed in the bid to be the President of the United States of America. This article will focus on the Socialist Party of the United States of America. First, lets look at the basic definition of socialism.

Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterized by social ownership and democratic control of the means of production, as well as the political ideologies, theories, and movements that aim at their establishment.

The term has been thrown around a lot for the past few years and with the resurgence of socialist candidates like Bernie Saunders, it has been getting more attention. Mostly in a negative light, since most connect socialism and communism. Both have similarities and some circles would conclude that communism is socialism going 100mph, but there are stark differences. Most notably, while communism is a political system, socialism is primarily an economic system that can exist in various forms under a wide range of political systems. Communism can not exist among other political systems; not at all. For instance; In communism all people are the same and therefore classes are illogical. The government should own all means of production and land as well as everything else. People should work for the government and the collective output should be redistributed equally. With socialism, all individuals should have access to basic articles of consumption and public goods to allow for self-actualization and further progressive movement in society to enhance the whole in the long run. Major industries are collective efforts and the returns from these industries must benefit society as a whole.

African People’s Socialist Party-USA – History. Chairman Omali with Huey Newton at the

The Socialist Party stands for the abolition of every form of domination and exploitation, whether based on social class, gender, race/ethnicity, age, education, sexual orientation, or other characteristics.

We are committed to the transformation of capitalism through the creation of a democratic socialist society based on compassion, empathy, and respect as well as the development of new social structures. Socialism will establish a new social and economic order in which workers and community members will take responsibility for and control of their interpersonal relationships, their neighborhoods, their local government, and the production and distribution of all goods and services.

For these reasons we call for social ownership and democratic control of productive resources, for a guarantee to all of the right to participate in societal production, and to a fair share of society’s product, in accordance with individual needs.

As we pursue a socialist transformation of society, we join with others in making radical demands on the existing system: demands that challenge the basic assumptions of a capitalist market economy while pointing the way to a new society. Although reforms will not in themselves bring about socialism, the fight for them will advance the cause by demonstrating the inherent limitations and injustice of the capitalist system. As we build the socialist movement, we organize around a platform committed to our common and interdependent struggles and aspirations.

An example is their economic plan:

The Socialist Party stands for a fundamental transformation of the economy, focusing on production for need not profit. So-called fair trade is meaningless as long as the world economy is dominated by a few massive corporations. Only a global transformation from capitalism to democratic socialism will provide the conditions for international peace, justice, and economic cooperation based on the large-scale transfer of resources and technology from the developed to the developing countries.

The are in total agreement with federal minimum wage being raise to $15 per hour along with the cancellation of 3rd World countries debts.

Here is an example of their ideas on education:

The Socialist Party recognizes the right of students of all ages to a free, quality education in a safe and supportive environment, and of all school employees to good wages, benefits, and working conditions • We call for full and equal funding of public education; for the restoration of a comprehensive K-12 curriculum, including art, music, world languages, and physical education; for an end to all public funding of private schools; and for free tuition and full-time teachers with full benefits (not “adjuncts”) at the post-secondary level. This also includes equal access to higher education for all people and support publicly funded higher education.

The Socialist Party of USA current President and Vice President candidates are Emidio “Mimi” Soltysik (P) and Angela Nicole Walker (VP). Here is an excerpt from their open letter expressing their commitment in being their party’s candidate for the presidency of 2016:

“The campaign’s focus throughout the upcoming year will not be on the candidates. The campaign’s focus will be on you. You are the mother, the father, the student, the worker. You are the community — the community that fights for the breath of dignity as the boot of oppression digs its heel into your throat – and you are the sacred, essential ingredient necessary for liberation. Capitalism and its defenders tremble when contemplating your power. That fear makes us smile, as we are seeing the dawn of a new era of equality, peace, and justice peeking over the horizon. Its light heals our collective wounds. It is the light of socialism.”

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4 responses to “A Look At The Socialist Party”

Hey everyone!! Here is an article I wrote for Some Unique Magazine which is part of a series of articles talking about the different political parties in the United States. Please explore Some Unique Mag for more great, informative articles! Be on the look out for more of this series of political parties–I really believe it is worth your time!

Sorry, socialism is the route to communism in Communist minds. In a condition of Communism, the state withers away because the conflicts that made it necessary are gone. Nonetheless, the political term Communist generally indicates an attitude to elections and free speech that most Socialist reject.

As an outsider, I find it thoroughly healthy that Americans are exposed to arguments so different from their norm and are asked to think about socialism. At present this party is so far from any kind of power, that points about what would happen if it was in power are barely relevant. Nonetheless:

To communists, Communism is the route to socialism, that is, an idyllic state of equality and co-operation. Communist states have all been dictatorial and oppressive – some much more than others, with former Yugoslavia at the mild end. The theory was that this would be temporary (like the Church before Jesus’ second coming). There are many political parties that call themselves socialist and are gradualist, wedded to democracy and relatively liberal on human rights – for example, the German Social Democrats and the British Labour Party. The American Socialists don’t look very gradualist to me. The aim of gradualist parties, nonetheless, is to achieve greater fairness, equality and co-operation. It’s how they do this that is the problem. They tend to be “democratic centralist”: you elected us, so we tell you what to do. The co-operation is top-down. This is where they are after all similar to the communism of the USSR, though in a much milder form. A reliance on decisions made at the top and on planning leads to inflexible systems and a deaf ear to complaints. Relying on the Market instead, though, almost worshipping it, is at least as bad.